2025-11-16 20:56:52People like to believe disasters are loud from the beginning—that there are sirens, warnings, signs written clearly across the sky. But catastrophe is far more intimate than that.
It begins in small places. *** Leap years had come to be dreaded because they were the signal that it was time for the next big monster outbreak. Normally, the start of a new year was a time for joy, parties, and looking forward to the future. But this wasn't any normal year; it was a leap year, and in this world, that meant trouble. The idea of a leap year as just an extra day in February had almost been forgotten. Now, most people didn't even call it a leap year and Violet seemed to be the only person who remembered the old meaning. To everyone else, a leap year was known as the 'Year of Death' or 'The Year of the Grim Reaper' because, throughout history, the scariest and most dangerous monster outbreaks from the Tower Of Ascension always happened during leap years. This pattern was something everyone knew and feared. It had been this way for as long as people could remember and ever since the first records of humans and monsters existed. The history of this parallel Earth differed greatly from the history of modern Earth as Violet remembered it, however, one day seemingly out of nowhere, the world around her, its history, the common vocabulary and many such things changed overnight with her being the only individual who still remembered the world order of the old. At first she questioned whether or not she had gone insane, whether she was hallucinating about the past that never was, or whether she had been transmigrated to another world? However, the answers to all those questions were unfortunately a resounding 'No'. She had been chosen by one of the most powerful gods of the tower of ascension, the great god 'Sol' to be his champion and although she did not know why and she did not know how, there seemed to be a dormant voice inside of her that seemed to be counting down to 0. "Show system screen." Violet said as a blue countdown screen displayed itself before her. [ Time until the system successfully binds itself to the host 00y:23h:59m:56s ] The first time she got it, this notification was set for a 10 years long countdown, however, now the dashboard was down to a mere 23 hours 59 minutes, which meant that by this time tomorrow Violet would have successfully bound herself with the system. "One day left…"Violet said as she let out a deep sigh, before she closed down her system screen and opened her mobile screen instead. "Hey, Xene, please call Rhys"Violet instructed her mobile phone's A.I. as it recognised her voice and connected a call to her brother's mobile phone. *Brrrr* *Brrrr* The dialer tone rang for a few seconds, but nobody picked up as Violet could not help but feel worried about her brother. In this world, the most famous individuals who were respected world-wide were not the sportsmen or actors. In this world the people who went on to become politicians or policymakers were not rich merchants or social workers. In this world, every child's first dream was not to become an astronaut, it was instead to be chosen by the Tower Of Ascension, for everyone wanted to be a 'Ascender'. A Ascender was a celebrity in this world, a first rate citizen while everyone else was second class. A Ascender was the title given to those who were chosen by the Tower Of Ascension as beings who were eligible to enter its grounds and challenge its various dungeons. While for women they were chosen between ages 16-20, for men the age bracket was 18-22. Till this day, nobody understood how the tower selected a Ascender, however, everyone wanted to be one as even the weakest Ascender usually went on to become an individual with unimaginable wealth, supreme strength and better health when compared to an average human. Unfortunately, only one in ten individuals were chosen to be a Ascender, meaning most kids who dreamed to become one never actually did. Rhys seemed to be obsessed with becoming one and since he was coming of age soon, his time to be chosen or not chosen as a Ascender was approaching. 1st January 2023 was his Birthday and at around midday today Rhys was officially going to turn 18, which was a big deal for him since most Ascenders who were chosen by the tower were usually chosen the very first day they turned of age. Violet was also one such Ascender. Currently 20, she was labeled the 'Brightest prospect of GenZ' and had managed to raise herself up to the position of 'Core member' within the Tigers guild. She had unbelievable fame, unheard talent and millions of fans worldwide, however, for her none of that mattered, for it was vengeance on a certain someone that she seeked the most. *Brrr* *Brrr* "Hello?" Rhys said from the other side of the phone as Violet immediately sighed in relief. "Hello-, Rhys, are you okay?" Violet asked as she bit her lower lip, knowing full well that her fame made her brother a target of unwanted attention. "Yeah, I'm okay, what would happen to me?" Rhys answered back sounding annoyed as Violet could hear the news channels monitoring the tower outbreak playing on the TV in his background. "Why are you not home yet? You know that your curfew is at 12, don't you? Do you want me to ground you?" Violet said in an angry voice as in the absence of their dead parents it was her who had taken up the mantle of raising her orphaned little brother. "Jeez, chill out, you're 20-, it's new years, get a boyfriend and open a bottle of wine. Also, I have legally turned 18 today, so you are no longer my guardian. I will do whatever pleases me from this day forward." Rhys said in a condescending tone as he acted completely like the spoiled brat that he was. "Oh no, you're not talking back to me young man, I want you back within this house in 15 minutes or you shall have it! You understand Rhys? H- How did you get in here? Who the hell are you?" Violet said over the phone as her voice turned from angry to nervous in an instant as Rhys who heard it all over the phone panicked as well. *Crash* The phone dropped from Violet's hand, hitting the ground below as Rhys heard her screaming and struggling in the background. "VIOLET! SISTER, ARE YOU OKAY? HELLO? HELLO?" Rhys screamed over the phone as he dashed out of the friends house that he was currently at and ran barefoot towards his apartment. His heart rate shot through the roof as he panicked that something unfortunate might be happening to his sister. He was only a five minutes walk away from his house and since he was sprinting back, the time he would take to reach back was bound to be even lesser. However, right as he entered the vicinity of his home a loud explosion over the phone made him accidentally drop his mobile. *KABOOM* Rhys watched in horror as his apartment went up in flames, with glass shattering and fire enveloping everything within. "NOOOO!!!" Rhys shouted, as he feared for his sister's life.
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Chapter 300
The weapon’s name had been engraved elegantly along the blade.Bloodbane.It was no ordinary sword.Its blade had been forged from an extremely rare metal that reflected the light with an almost sinister sheen. The black leather wrapped around the hilt had become worn with age, but it remained strong enough to withstand years of use.Yet the appearance wasn’t what made Bloodbane special.Its true value came from its unique ability.Bloodbane could absorb the vitality of its wielder and convert that energy into destructive attacks.The more vitality the wielder supplied, the greater the sword’s offensive power became.For an ordinary warrior, this was a terrible drawback. A person could only supply so much vitality before exhaustion forced them to stop. Even if the weapon could produce devastating attacks, using it recklessly could leave its wielder too weak to continue fighting.For Kratos, however, the situation was completely different.His vitality was practically inexhaustible.Bl
Chapter 299
Having 100,000 TG at his disposal, Kratos felt as though he had suddenly become a wealthy tycoon.Not long ago, he had entered the Tower as a dirt-poor immigrant with barely anything to his name. After surviving the massacre that had destroyed his race, he had arrived on Floor Zero with no money, no connections, and no idea how he was supposed to build a life for himself.To survive, Kratos had taken whatever odd jobs he could find. He worked long hours around the poorer districts of Floor Zero, earning just enough to afford food and a place to sleep. There were months when making even a few TG had been difficult.That was why 100,000 TG felt almost unreal to him.It wasn’t enough to purchase the greatest treasures in the Tower, nor was it a fortune to someone from one of the wealthy families. Rich people could casually spend 20 or 30 TG on a single meal without thinking twice. Yet there were still impoverished districts on Floor Zero where one TG could purchase enough food to last an
Chapter 298
After completing his first dungeon run, Rhys finally had a much clearer understanding of the dangers and unpredictability that came with Vorithra Sylithen.On paper, the dungeon should have been straightforward. Rhys already knew its layout, understood the monsters inside, and was familiar with most of their weaknesses. Yet none of that knowledge had prepared him for the constant changes brought by Vorithra Sylithen. Danger had appeared where he least expected it, and throughout the entire raid, there had been moments when one of his companions could have lost their life.They had survived this time, but Rhys wasn’t foolish enough to assume they would always be so fortunate. If they intended to continue clearing floors under these conditions, their strength had to increase by a considerable amount.Unfortunately, there was one major problem.Time.Rhys simply didn’t have enough of it.He needed time to learn new techniques, practice them repeatedly, understand their weaknesses, and gr
Chapter 297
“You don’t have to trust me. You can choose to remain a doll if that’s what you want.But if you desire to claim the latent power of that soul as your own…If you want her techniques, experience, and strength to become part of you…If you wish to rise like a phoenix from her ashes…Then give me a chance.In return, all I ask is that you kill Sylas in the most brutal way possible,” Ares said, holding out his hand for Maeve to shake.Maeve stared at his hand for several seconds, completely unsure of what choice she should make.She had been betrayed far too many times to easily place her faith in another person. Her brother, her father, Rhys, and even Poseidon had all failed her when she needed them most. Because of that, she had no reason to believe Ares would somehow be different.Yet when she thought about what Ares had told her regarding her soul, she couldn’t completely dismiss his explanation. Her father was certainly cruel enough to place another soul inside her body and patientl
Chapter 296
After collecting the treasures, Rhys and his team finally made their way out of the dungeon. The moment they emerged from the entrance, the Floor Administrator appeared and officially declared their mission complete. Since they had successfully conquered the dungeon, their performance received an ‘A’ grade evaluation.[ Strongest System Notification :- Congratulations host for clearing floor 22 of the tower of ascension.You have received +7 shots of Violet’s medicine.You have (10) days now to clear floor 23 for the chain quest to continue ]The notification from the Strongest System arrived almost immediately after the Floor Administrator finished grading their dungeon run. Rhys had managed to clear Floor 22 in only four days, so he had now been given another ten days to complete Floor 23. More importantly, he had also received the next batch of medicine he needed.Rhys looked at his three companions before speaking.“Alright guys, I’m going to head back to Earth, you guys can eithe
Chapter 295
After dealing with the money, they moved on to the magical items.The first major artifact they discovered was a dark robe.[Robes of Shadows] (Epic): This robe enhances stealth and provides resistance against light-based attacks. Its dark fabric flows like liquid night.Kael immediately recognized the usefulness of the item, but Rhys continued examining the remaining treasures.Nearby was another artifact.[Amulet of Darkness] (Rare): This accessory increases the wearer’s control over dark magic. Its surface is covered in mystical runes.The third item was an unusual orb.[Orb of Illusions] (Epic): A magical orb capable of creating complex illusions to deceive and mislead enemies.Kratos picked it up briefly before handing it back to Rhys. None of them had a suitable profession for it except perhaps Kael, who had enough magical knowledge to make good use of its abilities.In another section of the treasure room, they discovered several piles of mana stones.The high-grade stones cont
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